Service rack



April 24, 1962 w. o. SPENCER 3,031,184

SERVICE RACK Filed Nov. 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 William 0. 6761K?! ATTORNEYS April 24, 1962 w. o. SPENCER SERVICE RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 25, 1959 I INVENTOR Wzlkaw 0. @vemer ATTORNEYS United States ateft 3,031,184 SERVICE RACK William 0. Spencer, 205 Woodlawn, Murray, Ky. Filed Nov. 25, 1959, Ser. No..855,405 3 Claims. (Cl. 269-177) This invention relates to racks, and particularly to racks to support cylinders, such as those used to contain high pressure gas, while being serviced.

The cylindrical containers used to hold high pressure gas are quite heavy, weighing more than one hundred pounds, and'very difl'icult to handle. These cylinders have to be painted periodically, their bottoms have to be cleaned and the valves which are mounted in their tops have to be removed for repair or replacement. All of these service jobs require handling of the heavy cylinder, which adds considerably to the labor involved in doing the service jobs.

The principal object of the present invention is to pro vide a service rack for cylinders of this kind which will greatly facilitate the task of caring for such cylinders.

A more specific object is the provision of a rack of this type which will be constructed so that cylinders can be mounted upon it with little efiort.

A further object is to provide a rack which will support a cylinder and permit it to be rotated for painting or other service jobs.

Yet another object is the provision of a service rack of this nature which will be capable of holding a cylinder immovable when it is desirable.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a service rack for cylinders which will permit a cylinder to be lifted easily from the ground and held in a position where access may be had to all parts of the cylinder without necessity for the workman assuming fatiguing positions.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, this specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a service rack embodying the principles of the present invention, the rack being shown in loading position with a cylinder about to be seated on the device;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the rack in loaded position, with a cylinder strapped upon it;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the rack in the position shown in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the rack with the cylinder removed.

In general, the rack of the present invention consists of a fixed base with a cylinder bed tiltably mounted thereon so as to be capable of receiving cylinders in one position and swinging them to a horizontal working position. The cylinder is supported upon the bed in such manner that it may be rotated about its cylindrical axis, or held fixed against movement in any direction.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is shown a service rack 1 and a cylinder 2 to be serviced. The cylinder is the conventional container used for'the storage and dispensing of high pressure gas, and carries the usual valve 3 mounted in its top.

The service rack has a fixed base section 4 and a tiltable cylinder bed 5, pivotally connected to the base. The cylinder will be placed in the bed while it is upright (as shown in FIGURE 1) and then the bed section will be swung about its pivotal connection with the base to place the bed and cylinder in a horizontal, working position.

The base has a rectangular, angle iron frame 6 adapted to rest upon the ground. Relatively long back legs 7 are connected to the side members of the frame 6 inter- 3,031,184 Patented Apr. .24, 19.62

mediate their ends, and are bridged at their tops by a cross member 8, which forms a seat for the cylinder bed. At the front of the base frame, there are two shorter legs 9, which carry tubular fittings 10 at their tops to mount a shaft 11, which forms the pivot connecting the base and cylinder bed sections. Suitable braces 12 may be used between the front legs and base frame to n'gidify the legs, as the legs will be under considerable load in loading and unloading the cylinders.

The cylinder bed is of generally rectangular form, and has a pair of side rails 13 held in parallel, spaced relation by means of transversely extending cradle bars 14. The cradle bars are curved to match the contour of the cylinder. As many of these bars as may be necessary are used, two being shown. Depending struts 15 and 16 form supporting arms for the bed frame, and are connected at their bottom ends to sleeves 17 rotatably mounted on the shaft 11. A cylinder pick up hook 18 is carried by the bed frame upon a U-shaped boom 19 which has its ends fixed to the sleeves 17 and is held by braces 20 connected to the legs of the boom and the struts 15.

The side rails 13 of the cylinder bed carry rollers 21 at each end. These rollers are mounted for free rotation on bolts or other suitable shaft members 22 projecting from the ends of the side rails. The rollers are equipped with rubber tires 23 to provide good traction between the rollers and the cylinder and to allow for compression to seat the cylinder upon the cradle bars when desired. The rollers are of such diameter, and so positioned, that they will support a cylinder and hold it just slightly elevated above the cradle bars. This will allow the cylinder to rotate freely on the rollers without frictional engagement with the cradle bars. In order to lock the cylinder against movement, a hold-down strap 24 is fixed to one side rail 13 of the cylinder bed and is connectible with a take up clamp 25 of conventional type, carried by the other side rail. When the strap is placed about the cylinder and the take up clamp fastened, the action of the clamp in drawing up the strap will pull the cylinder down, compressing the rubber tires of the rollers and seating the cylinder firmly upon the cradle bars.

In using the device, the cylinder bed will be swung about its pivot to assume an upright position, as shown in FIGURE 1. This will place the cylinder hook 18 close to the ground so that a cylinder standing adjacent the rack may be tilted to place its bottom edge on the hook. The cylinder can then be pulled against the bed and the bed swung about its pivot in one continuous movement to bring the bed with the cylinder upon it into a horizontal position. The bed will come to rest upon the cross member 8 and, as the weight of the cylinder will be between the legs of the base the bed will rest firmly in place. The cylinder will be resting upon the rollers and may be rotated freely for painting, or cleaning. Thus, all sides and both ends of the cylinder will be readily accessible. If it is necessary to remove the valve 3, the strap 24 may be fastened, binding the cylinder to the cradle bars to hold it immovable. The necessary turning force may then be applied to unscrew the valve. When the service job is completed, the bed may be tilted to place the cylinder back upon its bottom on the ground.

While in the above one practical embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that the structural details shown and described are merely by way of example, and the invention may take other forms within the scope of hte appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A service rack for cylindrical containers comprising, a base, a cylinder bed pivotally connected to the base and movable about the pivotal connection to assume a vertical loading position and a horizontal working position, cradle bars carried by the bed to seat a cylinder, pairs of rubber tired rollers mounted on the bed to support a cylinder horizontally on the bed when the bed is in working position and slightly raised above the cradle bars, and means to exert pressure upon a cylinder supported upon the rollers to compress the rubber tires and seat the cylinder upon the cradle bars to hold the cylinder against movement on the bed.

2. A service rack for cylindrical containers as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bed carries a cylinder hook at the end which is lowermost when the bed is in loading position to provide a step to seat the bottom end of a cylinder.

3. A service rack for cylindrical containers comprising, a base, a cylinder bed pivotally connected to the base and movable about the pivotal connection to assume a vertical loading position and a horizontal working position, support means carried by the bed to seat a cylinder, compressible rollers mounted on the bed to support a cylinder horizontally on the bed when the bed is in working position and slightly raised above the support means, and means to exert pressure upon a cylinder supported upon rollers to compress the rollers and seat the cylinder upon the support means to hold the cylinder against movement on the bed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

